Nine international refugee organizations are calling on the prime minister to clarify the role of the new minister of border security and organized crime reduction.

In a joint letter, nine groups, including Amnesty International and the Canadian Council for Refugees, say the creation of the new ministry is an “urgent concern” to the Canadian public because it could fuel “unfounded alarm among Canadians” of a crisis at the border.

The prime minister created the new ministry and appointed former Toronto police chief Bill Blair to its helm during his recent summer cabinet shuffle. The position was created in the wake of controversy from federal opposition critics and Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party on how his government was handling a surge of irregular migrants crossing into Canada from the United States.

“We consider these to be urgent concerns currently, given the heightened politicization and misconceptions in the country with respect to the numbers and circumstances of refugee claimants crossing into Canada from the United States,” the letter reads.

A new Angus Reid poll seems to back their concerns – with 65 per cent of Canadians surveyed believing there are too many refugees coming to the country, with two-thirds calling the situation a “crisis” that would be best handled by Conservative leader Andrew Scheer.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen and Blair insisted during an emergency study into the “impact” of irregular migration on the provinces that the government has a “robust strategy” to decrease the level of irregular border crossers.

“There is a challenge, but it is not a crisis,” Goodale said during the marathon session.

Recent data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada shows 1,263 irregular migrants crossed into Canada in June. The department says these are the lowest levels seen in the last 18 months.

The groups thanked the prime minister for dismissing the “crisis” language used by the opposition but said the creation of the border security ministry sends a completely different signal on the government’s position.

“Prime Minister, if the government’s position is that there is no crisis but rather challenges … you can surely appreciate why this decision to suddenly appoint a new Minister of Border Security, and the specific indication that he “will be the minister responsible for irregular migration” sends a completely contrary signal,” the letter continues.

A brief description from the Prime Minister’s Office on Public Safety Canada’s website describes Blair’s new responsibilities as “[ensuring] Canada’s borders are managed in a way that promotes legitimate travel and trade while keeping Canadians safe and treating everyone fairly and in accordance with our laws.”

The statement goes on to say Blair will also tackle gun violence and play an important role with police forces across the country to reduce organized crime.

“Minister Blair will also continue to lead the legalization and strict regulation of cannabis, and will be the minister responsible for irregular migration,” says the outline of Blair’s new duties.

A spokesperson from the PMO said mandate letters, which will outline the responsibilities of the new ministries in more detail, will be released later this summer but did not disclose a formal date of release.

The groups say the mix of Blair’s responsibility to tackle organized crime along with irregular migration “erodes” support for refugees coming to Canada.

“To have created a new Ministry that combines border security/irregular migration responsibilities … inescapably risks feeding the very dangerous narrative that people who are fleeing for their lives are breaking the law and even threatening our security,” the letter continues.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, refugees are exempt from penalties if they are forced to cross borders using irregular channels in their search for safety.

One way the groups hope to decrease the flow of irregular migrants is by suspending or repealing the Safe Third Country Agreement, which allows Canada and the United States to send migrants back to the country where they first filed for asylum.

Three signatories on Thursday’s letter – Amnesty International, Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Council of Churches – launched a joint lawsuit against the federal government in July to force the suspension of the agreement on the grounds that the United States is not “a safe country” for refugees. Their three-day hearing begins in January.